Good Friday is the day of Christ's death and, at the same time, the day of human redemption, when we are called to pause and listen to ourselves, to be aware of the questions of eternity and to pray for peace in the world.
In his choral motets, the genius of Labska, Felix Medelszon, speaks of the time of Christ's Passion and the questions of faith with emotional balance and nobility of spirit, giving us the power of trust and light. The choral work Umbrae Mortis by the renowned contemporary French composer Pascal Dusapin is like a little requiem, looking into the shadow realm of the dead. Mārtiņš Viļums' Le temps scintille ('Time Flickers'), with lines of poetry by Paul Valéry and Rainer Maria Rilke, is perhaps the most poetic meditation on death in Latvian music. Everything is like a dreamy, airy swirl, depicting an entry into another time and space beyond the physical world.
The French organist and composer Marcel Dupré was considered the Paganini of organ music. His organ cycle Le Chemin de la Croix, Op.29 ('Stations of the Cross') was inspired by a poem of the same name by the French poet Paul Claudel, in which the poet meditated on the significance of each station on the Way of the Cross in the Christian life. Between readings, Dipré improvised on the organ - this had such a profound effect on the audience that Dipré decided to compose a cycle based on the Stations of the Cross.
PROGRAMME
Motets by Felix Mendelssohn, Pascal Disapin
Philippe Gutnuard, Martins Vilums
PARTICIPANTS
Latvian Radio Choir
Nora Kalniņa, soprano
Vitālijs Stankevičs, bass
Sinfonietta Riga
Diriģents Sigvards Kļava
